Goodie Better Best

Curried Avocado Dip

2010-06-03T18:55:00.003-06:00

All of my best recipes tend to come from two people: my neighbors Bretta Pirie-Srivastava and Shelley Henriod. I've hosted parties where all the food I made was from Shelley Henriod's treasure trove of recipes...and Shelley was one of the guests. Pretty funny.

This particular recipe is from Bretta and Raj Srivastava and we make it all year round, though it is a summer recipe.

Curried Avocado Dip
(I double the recipe if I'm bringing it to an event)

1/2 cup cilantro leaves and stems, packed
1/4 cup plain yougurt
3 T. shredded sweetened coconut
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. fresh ginger, chopped
(I have used the minced bottled ginger before in a pinch)
1/2 t. curry powder
1 serrano or jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
Salt to taste (1/2 t. ?)
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, chopped

Blend all ingredients except the avocado in a food processor. Usually I blend everything but the yogurt and avocado, then blend in the yogurt.

Add chopped avocado and blend until very smooth. Taste for seasoning, then transfer to serving dish.

Serve with Hint of Lime Tostitos. Although, I've tried toasted pita or shrimp before, too.

* You don't want to combine everything in the recipe more than 2-3 hours before hand. However, when I've taken this to events before I've blended everything but the avocado, placed the mixture in a Rubbermaid container w/ lid, and put it in the refrigerator until it was time to eat. When it was time I cut up the avocado and blended it with the other ingredients. Of course, this required a blender or food processor, so whatever works.

* I've also made this for dinner - the only course for dinner. Yum!

The OTHER Favorite Weekend Come & Gone

2009-10-04T19:39:00.002-06:00

Oh my heavens! Yes, it is true: I haven't posted in six months.
Another great Conference weekend.
And NO Saturday games for the first time in five years!

Ingredients of a perfect Conference Sunday morning

1) Sleep until 7:30 PM
2) Read a great talk by M. Catherine Thomas from BYU
Speeches in the dim morning light of the bedroom
3) Weather: rainy, gray, thunder, lightning
4) Make a French toast breakfast for the kids
5) House is already decorated for Halloween
6) All the family sitting around the television
7) Elder Eyring is the first speaker of the session : )

A Favorite Weekend Come & Gone

2009-04-05T21:05:00.005-06:00

The first weekends in April and October are easily my favorites of the year. I look forward to them every year, but it is always over too soon.

Originally we had two soccer games and one baseball game on the calendar for Saturday - but last Monday I started telling the kids to pray for snow on Saturday. Oh...the faith of my chillins is overwhelming : ) We got the snow we wanted - all three games canceled. I didn't even mind that I had to run the Emigration Canyon 10 Miler in the stuff.

It was a fun race and I actually found the snow blowing in my face somewhat mesmerizing, or at least distracting. The course is 2 1/2 miles of fairly serious incline followed by 7 1/2 miles of easy decline, though my IT band in the right leg would say otherwise. I haven't had iliotibial band problems for several years, but I pretty well limped my way through the last two miles. I'm either still wincing from the pain or expressing that I am too sexy for my neck gator.

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon tucked in our cozy house watching conference with the kids. It was so great to not have to be anywhere or do anything other than listen and watch.
That evening Matt and Scout headed to Orem: Matt attend the Priesthood session with my dad and brother-in-law, Owen, and Scout to hang with the grandma.

The remaining kids and myself headed to our usual hangout during the Priesthood session.
Today we enjoyed another four hours of spiritual love fest. And I felt that same old sadness I felt even as a child when they sang, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again", at the close of the last session. Come and gone all too quickly.

Got plans for Spring Break?

2009-04-02T18:00:00.003-06:00

Scouty found a great travel deal as we drove around downtown on Tuesday.

Maybe we'll cancel our reservations in Zions Park and head straight to Heaven via the Central Christian Church. But, the kids would never believe me - whenever they ask, "Mom, where are we going?", I always say, "Hades."

Jen and Nancy's Annual Moab Weekend

2009-03-29T21:19:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday about this time I was arriving home from a great weekend in Moab with my friend Nancy. Looking outside at the snow on the ground right now I'm wishing I were still there - Moab was full of Spring.

Nancy and I had signed up for the Canyonlands Half-Marathon yet again, but in between the time of registration and race day we both developed problems (Nance - an injured foot. Me - pneumonia) that were throwing a wrench into our usual race plans.

Up until the morning we left for Moab I was determined to run the half come hell or high water, never mind I was less than three weeks out from having pneumonia and wheezed my way through just 4 miles. Two days before the race my friend Raj suggested I might not be in any kind of condition to actually run thirteen miles - but what did he know? He's a pediatrician, for Heaven's sake! LOL
On the morning of the race - with the excitement of the race and being with Nance - my denial had vanished and Nancy and I found ourselves lining up with (oh, I hate to admit it!) the 5 mile racers at the starting line as we made snarky remarks about being demoted to the beginners race this year. Okay, it was just me making those remarks because Nancy is far too nice to stoop to my level : ) Of course, the 5 milers were probably shooting me glances of pity as they saw me dragging on this at the starting line.

See Nancy Run

In the end the race was fun and enjoyable, and it was nice to be finished running after 40 minutes versus two hours so that we had more time to talk, which is the real reason for the trip , anyway. Nancy is the best conversationalist and we literally do not stop talking the entire three days we spend together.
We sat around talking in the sunny park for four hours waiting for the shuttle to take us back to our lodgings; staying here is the other reason we come on the trip : ) That afternoon we somewhat guiltily (because we knew husbands were back home wrangling the kids) indulged in spa there. Our talking being so consuming that we stayed in the sauna way too long. Had a great dinner ~ they actually have a very good restaurant at the ranch ~ and went back to our cozy lodge and beds. What a great day.

It was hard to say goodbye to a view like this from our front porch, but Sunday morning it was time to head back home. We caught a sacrament meeting in Moab before heading out and loved seeing the several other visitors in attendance who were dressed in their running clothes. Hello, the race was, like, yesterday. I loved it, though - especially the guy in running clothes AND bare feet!
And of course we spent the entire drive (getting progressively colder as we drove towards snow) in great conversation about extended family, people we knew in high school, church callings, gospel principles, temples, old boyfriends, kids, etc.
And best of all, for me, is that I've known Nancy for so long she knows all my annoying habits and features, but just chooses to ignore them and loves me anyway. Love you, Nance.

Uncle Shelby

2009-03-18T20:00:00.003-06:00

Despite having been voted "Class Clown" in high school, I sometimes get intensely serious for long periods of time - it was worse when I drank : 0 . I had been living in one of those times for the past several weeks and I think my kids had just finally had enough of it. One night last week, perceptive little Isaac started recounting funny episodes from the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, trying to find one that would make his mom laugh. Finally, Ike grabbed the book and said, "Mom, just read this one part." It did the trick...I could not stop laughing.

You see, Shel Silverstein (or Uncle Shelby as he creepily referred to himself) was a revered icon in my house when I was growing up. My mom would have us memorize many, many of his poems. I'd bet that between my sisters and I we could recite Where the Sidewalk Ends in its entirety.
Watch this clip of him singing with Johnny Cash and you, too, will stay in your bed for fear of meeting Shel in the hallway.

It's Not My Birthday Anymore

2009-03-02T22:40:00.005-07:00

When Matt married into the Minster family it drove him crazy that our birthday celebrations tended to be big ordeals that stretched over several days, often well past the actual birthday. Just one of my mom's affectionate quirks. He couldn't understand why a simple cake couldn't suffice.

So I found it especially priceless when Matt played Morrissey's latest song for me on the way home from my birthday breakfast this morning:

It's Not Your Birthday Anymore

it's not your birthday anymore
there's no need to be kind to you
and the will to see you smile and belong has now gone

So Morrissey and so very funny! But, actually, it is my birthday for thirty more minutes ; )

Waiting to Exhale...

2009-02-25T19:37:00.003-07:00

Today marks a week since the last Busico entered the MTC. Matt can finally stop holding his breath because I think both Nick and Luke will survive their time in the MTC and be flying out to their respective missions without making a detour to home : ) They were able to experience a couple of tender mercies from the Lord to help make their transition to mission life more comforting.

Many of you know that Matt likes to make special arrangements for people - this is especially great when traveling with him because there are all sorts of special perks and upgrades he somehow arranges. So when it came time for Matt and I to take Nick to the temple two weeks ago, Matt decided it would be especially wonderful if Nick could go to the Provo Temple so that Luke could be in the session with him (Luke has been at the MTC in Provo for a month). Matt contacted the MTC president, explaining that Nick would not be having any family members with him in the temple and it would mean much to the twins if they could be together for this occasion. Voila!
Of course, it was a wonderful experience - except that the temple workers kept saying that I was the mom of the missionary. This pleased neither me nor Nick. As it turned out, the twins' cousin, Micah, was also able to be at the temple with us, too. He had just returned from his mission the week before. Micah is a great kid and I think it was wonderful for the boys to talk to someone newly off their mission. I loved watching the three of them together - I've never seen the twins smile this much, especially for the camera.
When Nick first received his mission call to Brazil he was told that he would be going to the MTC in Brazil. Nick was not happy about 1) going straight to Brazil w/o MTC training and 2) that he wouldn't get to be in the MTC with Luke. Another miracle for the boys...just a few days before going to the MTC Nick was informed that his visa to Brazil has not arrived as yet, and therefore he would be going to the MTC in Provo until the visa problem was remedied. Wow! This was further proof that God does indeed care about our seemingly trivial cares and preferences.

Matt went to the MTC for the third time with the Busicos last week, this time to say goodbye to Nick. While he was there he also arranged with MTC workers for Luke to get out of class so that his family could see him one last time before they all said goodbye to Nick.
The twins are now living on the same floor at the MTC and , I'm guessing, seeing each other enough to help them stay happy and smiley (well, as smiley as Busicos get : ). Yee-Ha!!

Eliza Scout turns 12 Years Old

2009-02-25T19:02:00.006-07:00

Scout turned 12 years old today. And that means that...I am getting older!
For those of you who know Scouty, you know what a wonderful person she is (wait, how did she end up being stuck with such sub-wonderful parents : )

I just love surprises - both giving and receiving. So I was excited when Matt and I decided to surprise Scout with a trip to NYC for her birthday. It was kind of a surprise for me too, because we only thought of this a few days ago so I had to make changes to my schedule. Scout didn't know about the trip until I picked her up from school on Tuesday and told her that she had less than an hour to pack her bag before we went to the airport. I didn't even tell her where we were going until we were in the car and I let her friend, Eleanor, who is on the trip with us, tell her.
Bummer - but I left my camera cord at home so I can't upload the photos from today to my laptop. But, I think that Scout thought it was pretty cool to spend her birthday eating at Norma's (best breakfast place, ever), wandering FAO Schwarz and seeing South Pacific at the Lincoln Center. She and Eleanor weren't so hip on spending lunch with two of my college roomates, but I sure loved seeing Erin and Robbie after 16 years. We'll see what tomorrow brings because I haven't had time to plan anything.

Happy Birthday, Matt!!

2009-02-16T10:52:00.003-07:00

The Sweetest Valentine

2009-02-16T10:35:00.005-07:00

Matt has always been excellent with Valentine's Day thoughtfulness. On our first Valentine's day he gave me the black harness biker boots that I wear all the time - confirmation that we would indeed make it through our first year of marriage : ) But a couple of years ago he started giving me the best Valentine's gift ever. Well, it isn't really a gift FOR me, but nothing could mean more. Matt always gets flowers for his three daughters for Valentine's Day! It is usually accompanied by a note listing the things he loves about them and always given with much love, leaving no doubt about how much this dad loves his girls.

I'm hoping this will be arsenal for the teen years, when Scout or Greta or Lily are dating some wild kid, I can say with confidence (as I heard my friend Bryan Fong say to his daughter): You don't need the attention of some dumb boy; you get enough love at home!!!

Grand Targhee 2009

2009-02-13T20:23:00.011-07:00

We arrived home from Grand Targhee two weeks ago,
but we're still dreaming about the powder.

We started the trip with a stop in Idaho Falls to visit our great friends (never mind that we haven't seen them in about 7 years) - the Wildings. It was wonderful to see Dave and Emily again, along with their four boys. I'm thinking there's going to have to be some matchmaking going on between the two families. I kept wanting to kidnap little Ridge and take him home to the Asay house.

The next morning we were so happy to be at Grand Targhee again!

Greta and Lily were happy to go to Kids Care

- but not as happy as Matt and I were to have them there.
Scouty and I were so happy as we headed up to our favorite run - Lost Warrior.

Actually, Isaac was quite happy to sit in the lodge and eat muffins all morning long by himself :)

I'm trying to find a way and a time to get back to Targhee before the season ends, but until then I well content myself with watching the great video Matt put together.

Asays - Grand Targhee 2009 from Jen Asay

Belated Argentine Holiday post

2009-01-21T10:21:00.003-07:00

We've been home from Buenos Aires nearly one month - and I sure miss it. When we arrived home we jumped right back into school, church, work, etc. After a couple of weeks of not getting around to posting about the last half of our trip I finally decided it was too late to bother, but after a plea from my mom to do another post about Argentina...I'm granting her wish.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Eating American-style: dinner at 6:30 PM instead of at 9 or 10 PM. We were the only people at the restaurant at this time. All the tables had "Reserved" signs on them for the people coming at 9 PM. We persuaded the manager to let us take a table by promising to be in and out quickly before the other diners arrived. I mean, come on, Asays can easily finish a big meal in 10 minutes.

Christmas Morning

Even on Christmas Day Dad dons his uniform.
Christmas Day dinner with thirty elders and hermanas. When I saw how many missionaries showed up for dinner compared with the amount of food we'd made I began to worry. However, it was a miracle of the loaves and the fishes... and all were filled. This was partly due to the many pies that Matt had made. I'm assuming that most readers of this blog have tasted Matt's pies, so you'll appreciate the fact that dessert was the best part of the meal.

A little après-déjeuner Christmas hymns sing-along. I just loved these Elders and Hermanas. Nothing better than seeing nineteen and twenty year-old boys doing the Lord's work.
Such great kids!

Lily had yet again practiced deception in persuading Hermana Tracy and Hermana Urban to believe that she was a sweet, innocent little three year old. Just look at Lily's knowing glance! It's all a ruse.

December 26th

We drove the four hours to Pinamar, a resort town on the coast. We'd stopped in Pinamar for a couple of hours when we were in Argentina in 2007 and we just loved the beautiful beach. So we decided to book a few days at a hotel on beach. We were lucky enough to have Matt's parents come with us, too.
The kids have a really wonderful Grandpa who always loves making sand sculptures with them.

Searching for some last sea shells to take home.

Sunday, December 28th

We attended church in a little branch right outside of Pinamar. I love attending church in branches. It is so interesting to see the Church functioning on the small scale.

This little boy was my entertainment during sacrament meeting. I loved watching him beg crackers off of Lily and waddling around on his little legs. I went outside between classes and found him sitting on this ledgeI was somewhat gratified to see that my kids appear to be as bored in Primary while in Argentina as they are in our ward. I always thought it was just because they were tired of hearing me talking. See, the Church is the same the world over :)

Yet again, Lily managed to find people to coddle and carry her,

despite her sulky little face.Matt and me with Paul and Carol Gourdin. Mr. Gourdin was a Spanish teacher at the junior high school Matt and I attended. His afro hairdo my be long gone, but he is still the same man : )

Scout making yet another pit stop for helado at Freddo's. Believe it or not I never had any helado while I was in Argentina.

I loved going on running while in Argentina. Runs on the beach were, of course, wonderful, but I personally liked running through the neighborhoods of Banfield (where the mission home is located). With the help of the totally awesome site MapMyRun.com Matt and I found some good running routes. I have to admit that 1) I always got lost at about mile 4, and 2) there were a few dodgy places I ran through and just hoped I could make it out again. And then I would run through the same dodgy place the next day : 0
I just loved seeing where and how the average people lived. But, this photo gives you an idea of the terrain I was running on, and this wasn't nearly the worst of it. The pavement often had 12 inch drop-offs, dog poop and craters. It felt like I was trail running.

And I always passed several of these donkey carts that collect cardboard everyday.
As my sister-in-law Brittany put it, traveling to the airport in "true Argentine style. The whole fam, all the luggage, and a couple pigs." The kids had fun driving everywhere without car seats or seatbelts; roaming through the car as it zoomed down the highway. You know, the way people used to travel until about 20 years ago.

I'm ending with my favorite photo from the trip.
My father-in-law coming home from a long day of zone conferences and missionary interviews.
I know he had spent the day giving his all - mentally, physically and spiritually - to the missionaries he is over. And he would wake up and do it again the next day and the next day, and so on. Just as my mother-in-law does everyday, as well. We loved seeing them, but we especially loved seeing them work so hard in building the Church in Argentina.

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

2008-12-23T19:10:00.015-07:00

The internet at the mission home is sporadic - so I'm going to do a mega blog of the last five days in Argentina since I don't know that I'll have another chance ~ we are going to the coast the day after Christmas. I brought along the new SLR digital camera that Matt gave me for Christmas but I have little to no idea how to use it, as you'll see. I AM going to take some photo classes next month, but be easy on me my photo-fiend friends (and sister) as I'm learning. BTW, the weather here is fantastic.

DIA PRIMERO
This is our second time to Buenos Aires and we were excited, but not as excited as Grandma and Grandpa Asay were to see their grandkids.

On the drive to the mission home we passed a villa miseria (shanty town, basically), one that is immediately off to the side of the major highway.

The thing I found amazing about this one {Villa Ferrito} is that, when we were here last year, it was located on the opposite side of the highway. According to my father-in-law, less than six weeks ago the government closed the original Villa Ferrito. Over the course of the next week or so the squatters crossed the road, tore down the razor fence around a large, green, privately-owned field and set-up Villa Ferrito Redux. The government is now in the process of trying to buy the land from the private owner. But the villa is HUGE! Hundreds and hundreds of tents and huts with electricity filched from power lines with jerry-rigged wiring. And all in a matter of weeks. Crazy.

The kids spent the rest of the day running around the house and playing in Grandpa's office cum gym.

DIA SEGUNDO

Attending church in Banfield. The kids were treated like special guests in Primary and had a good time despite the language differences.

Greta was well taken care of by Hermana Godfrey during her Primary class.Sunday night we attended Noche de Luz, a Christmas choral performance that the mission does each Christmas. My mother-in-law has spent many weeks directing and preparing the program and I have to say that the twenty elders and sisters sounded really, really great. Elder Taylor, the choir director, was amazing and I plan on seeing him with the MoTab someday. It was great to meet and talk with so many of the missionaries that night. The North American missionaries loved seeing the kids; just a little reminder of home.

DIA TRECERO
Monday was transfer day in the mission so I spent the morning at the church attending the transfer meeting. Again, couldn't understand a thing that was said, but I enjoyed seeing how much the missionaries love Presidente and Hermana Asay.

Matt went into Capital (Buenos Aires proper) in the morning for business meetings. Since the mission home was going to be overrun with missionaries for the next day or so, we planned on spending the night in Capital and took a taxi in the afternoon to meet up with Matt at the Marriott. Crazy and fun taxi ride, not the least because Lily threw up three times during the 40 minute drive.
While Matt swam with the kids at the hotel, Brittany and I went across the street to the Plaza San Martin to take photos and look around. After taking this photo of Brittany I switched places with her so that I could have my photo taken as well. Imagine me sitting right where Brittany is with my camera bag (wallet, iPhone, passport) sitting next to my foot* when suddenly I look down and see a kid reach through the broken balustrade and take my bag - all while making eye contact with me! The split second it took for me to realize he had actually taken my bag gave him a good lead as he ran down the grassy hill. That's when I took off sprinting (and yelling) down the stairs in the photo below, making pretty good time in my skirt and heeled sandals. By this point several people on the grass and stairs had begun yelling and chasing the thief along with me. I was shocked to see such a response as this is not the Argentine way I'd experienced, especially at futbol matches I'd attended. As I ran I kept thinking, "What a pain to cancel my cards from here." ~ "Matt is going to be so annoyed." ~ "Wow, I can't believe my sandals haven't broken, yet. These were worth every penny." More than 70-ish yards later, just when I began to think there was no way the kid could be stopped, two of my fellow chasers caught up and literally tackled the kid to the ground on the sidewalk. It sounded painful - and I was glad my camera wasn't in the bag. The thief ran off, I picked up my bag and turned to see the whole park staring at me (remember I had been YELLING at the thief the whole time). One of the merciful tacklers had been hurt in the scuffle with quite battered and bloody leg. I felt so badly and kept telling him Gracias and trying to give him money. I made my way back up the stairs and found Brittany standing in the exact same place I'd left her. I couldn't stop laughing and only wished Brit had thought to record the chase. Mostly, I was heartened and grateful to see so many helpers come to my aide. * I've never, ever been so brainless to set my bag down in public and I realize I completely brought it upon myself. Still, it made me laugh.

Later we ate dinner at an empanada restaurant we'd eaten at last year, and realized we'd remembered it more fondly than the food merited.
DIA CUARTO

Matt had another meeting in the morning, and determined take advantage of our time in Capital, I forced Brittany and all the kids to walk to Cimetiere de Recoleta, which was, of course, further away than I'd expected. On the way the kids were stopped by an elderly man who was so taken with the kids, um, paleness, I guess. He kept saying how beautiful they were and asked to have his photo taken with them.

He kept touching Greta's hair and skin which bothered her a bit.
We finally made it to Cimetiere de la Recoleta, a cemetary modeled after Pere Lachaise in Paris. I don't know why I love visiting both of these cemetaries, but even Greta said it was a "cool park".After all that walking we were ready to eat lunch at Matt's favorite Argentine restaurant, Las Lilas, for steak and other local specialties. Mmmmmmmmmm. It did not disappoint!
My little carnivore couldn't have been any happier.

Matt and Ike finished the day off with a visit to the local heladeria (ice cream parlor) to watch the Boca v. Tigre futbol match. A perfect night for them.

DIA QUINTO
Isaac has spent every free minute in the mission home pool. And, yes, the water really is that green AND this was right after the pool cleaner had come by. Matt is sure that Ike will grow a second head from water contamination : )
We've spent today grocery shopping, baking and cooking in preparation for the big Christmas dinner with the missionaries tomorrow. I suggested we go out for Christmas Eve dinner so that Mom wouldn't feel like she had to prepare something for us. It was a very beautiful summer night that ended with one solid hour of neighborhood fireworks ~ I kid you not. One hour!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

BTW, sistas. I stole this car when I found it parked next to the house and have shipped it home as a souvenir. I'll bet Brianne gets to it first, since it has her name written all over it.

An Evening in Bethlehem

2008-12-12T09:04:00.004-07:00

Some of know that I created a crazy autumn for myself with event after event, some of them overlapping. I will post about some of the events after Christmas.

But, Wednesday night was the culmination of the event that is most dear to my heart, the live Nativity. And, despite one man telling me that he was putting me on suicide watch on Tuesday because I was acting like a despondent crazy lady (with good reason, I might add), everything worked out absolutely beautifully on Wednesday night. It was the most perfect Nativity we've done yet. The choirs were sublime, the animals were picturesque (the camel was secured only days before), the costume changes were streamlined, the cast was filled with wonderful people, and the crew members were even better. If you didn't make it to the Nativity this year, make plans for next year - December 9th, 2009.

Watch the slide show from the Deseret News here.

Goodbye, Barcelona...until the next time!!

2008-09-18T09:41:00.007-06:00

With only four short days in Barcelona I crammed in as much as I could, feeling anxious that I wouldn't get to everything I wanted to do (and I didn't). By day two I was soothing my fears by repeating "When I come back to Barcelona next time I'll do...". What a fabulous city with beautiful and friendly people, wonderful food, amazing architecture and the most unique shopping I've seen.

Here is a quick list of favorites:

☞ Firstly, I had the BEST travel companion in my friend Jennifer. We seemed to be on the same wavelength about what we wanted to see, do, taste while in Spain. We got up early, stayed up late (okay, not Barcelona-late, but always past midnight). And ran around the city like women on a mission. She didn't even blink when we realized I'd gotten us on the wrong train to Figueres to see the Dali Museum. The one hour train ride turned into three hours - just three extra hours of talking, right? Initially, I'd planned on going to Barcelona alone, but I wouldn't have had half the fun without Jen being there, too.
☞ Sagrada Familia - One of my regrets is that we didn't spend more time at Antonin Gaudi's masterpiece. It is more amazing than I'd suspected and one more reason to return to Barcelona. One of the best things is that it is still a work in progress, and as you enter the cathedral you can watch the artisans at work. They say it will be finished by 2026...um, yeah, right.
☞ Food- From the yummy panini-type sandwiches to the tapas to the gelato to the European hot chocolate to the great dinner at Cesc the food did not disappoint. We even happened upon a great Japanese restaurant - we missed getting the name of the restaurant, but I'm counting on being able to find my way there again next time. I loved the fried artichoke shavings in the photo.
☞The Colors of Barcelona - we found these displays of candy all over the city. They were so beautiful. This one was at the Boqueria, the out door market in the Barri Gotic area of Barcelona. Fresh juice is sold everywhere in the city, though I never bought any.

☞Attending the local sacrament meeting. The taxi driver had quite a time trying to find the church with the address we gave him. He pulled over and asked a man on the street, "Is there a church around here?", the man said "no". We kept telling the driver that, while we didn't know what the building would look like, it would not look like a church. Finally, we had him drop us off near the address and we started walking. In less than a minute a woman pushing a stroller asked if we were looking for the church. She didn't bother to say Mormon or LDS, but we knew enough to follow her through a park and chain-link gate to an unassuming building. And yes, it did not look like a church. We found out the building was the back side of an old football stadium and the church rented out the former offices of the stadium. Jen and I marveled at how the inside looked just like every other meetinghouse (circa 1970) in Utah. Had they really shipped over the standard-issue honey colored doors? I regret not taking a photo.

☞ The Fountains at Placa d'Espanya - I hadn't even considered the fountains as a 'must-see' for Barcelona, but Jen and the Sunday night crowd (several hundreds) that gathered more than an hour before the fountains began flowing changed my mind. They were pretty amazing. It was such a fun and beautiful way to end the day.
☞ Shops/Workshops - I loved how so many of the shops have the actual workshops attached as well so that you can watch the shop owners making their wares be it espadrilles, toys, etc.

Animal House

2008-08-27T18:32:00.004-06:00

I have two little frat boys at my house who love running around with underwear on their heads.
I'll really start to worry when they break out the togas and roll in the kegs. But, seriously, doesn't Greta look wasted in the shot below?

Back to School Schultuete

2008-08-26T19:22:00.010-06:00

Bonneville Elementary started classes today...

...and last night I decided to make a schultuete for the each of the kids to open in the morning. I've been wanting to make these (or buy them) for a couple of years, but never planned ahead. This year the lack of planning didn't stop me as I gathered what little scrapbooking supplies I had and scavenged around the house for little stuffers. I came up with colored scripture pencils, a mini stapler, an emery board, mini hand sanitizers, pencils and various candy, some of which is from last Halloween, no kidding.

This morning the kids woke to find the cones hanging from the light fixture in the dining room, and can I tell you how appreciative they were!?! There were a lot of "thank you"s and hugs. Great reward for a little late night effort.

Morning Workout

2008-08-23T15:27:00.005-06:00

The last thing I wanted to do this morning when I woke at 5 AM was run 13.1 miles, but I'd already paid the entrance fee and by golly, I was going to get my $35 worth of running. So I hauled my butt to Park City and RAN. It was unusually tough going for me the first five miles and the four potty pit stops I had to make during the first half of the race didn't help anything.

In the end, I didn't run a PR, but I did post a better time than I ran in Moab last March by almost three minutes! And I got to listen to some fun music and a great talk by Elder Eyring ~ ever notice how his talks have a nice rhythm and build momentum as they go? Great to run to, seriously.

Earlier in the week I was complaining that it was an out-n-back course, but I ended up liking the trail a good deal and will definitely sign up next year. And I'll welcome any running mates.

I'd like to thank a few people who made this morning possible:

Matt - For taking the girls on an over-nighter so I could revel in an empty house.
Bretta - For having Isaac spend the night with Ethan so he wouldn't be alone in the morning.
Melissa - For making me register for the race in the first place. So sorry that she injured her foot and had to back out.
Nancy - For the introduction to great ponytail holders and Body Glide.

The Year of Ivory

2008-08-18T16:30:00.009-06:00

Today marks the beginning of mine and Matt's Year of Ivory as we are celebrating fourteen years of marriage. I toyed with the idea of getting Matt this lovely ivory phone case ~

~ but after buying new bedroom furniture I think the gift is going to be something more reasonable...

From our humble beginnings... we have exploded into the vast Asay empire we are today (okay, only four kids).

The thing I love about having been married to Matt this long is that each year is better than the one before. Truly.

How well do you know your spouse...this little Spouse Quiz will test your knowledge.

1. What does your spouse do at work? Be specific ("he's an executive" isn't enough, give specifics, duties). This might be easier than me trying to explain: http://www.alfresco.com/about/people/all/

2. What is your spouse really good at? Focusing on the task at hand, among many other things.

3. Has he or she won any awards, commendations, trophies? For what? Yes, but I know I won't remember many of them. Named all-state baseball pitcher in high school, presidential scholar at BYU, and couple of industry awards.

4. What is your spouse's favorite comfort food, when growing up? Many! Maple cream pie, pie crust, hot chocolate from Hatch Family Chocolates, pepperoni pizza with jalapenos from The Pie.

5. What is your mate's dream job? Not sure, but maybe traveling around the world preaching the gospel of Open Source software (the profitable kind : )

6. What did your spouse want to be when he or she was a child? A brain surgeon so that he could make lots of money.

7. What is you mate's top goal in life? Just takes it one day at a time : )

8. What does your spouse see as his or her greatest accomplishment thus far? Personally~having a great family. Professionally~Founding OSBC a few years ago. Physically~Running the Death Valley Marathon.

9. How many cousins does your husband or wife have? Matt doesn't even know this answer, but I think 16 or 17.

10. What is the name of your spouse's high school best friend? Brian Gardiner

11. What is your mate's favorite color? Blue

12. What is your spouse's favorite sport or hobby? Football (aka: soccer

Brandi Carlile's Olympic Debut

2008-08-14T10:53:00.008-06:00

I've been loving the music of Brandi Carlile for several months now, thanks to friends Sonya and Matt for the intro.

Brandi has slowly gained notice the past few years for her incredible Patsy Kline-ish voice and strong songwriting. So I found it exciting to see one of her songs, The Story, used in the GM commercial that been playing during the Olympics (this song was also featured on an episode of Grey's Anatomy). This is not my favorite among her songs, but it shows some of the vocal phrasing that I'm so impressed with.

Say what you will about the commercialization of indie music, I'm sure Brandi wasn't crying on the way to the bank.

Here is the GM commercial and the music video from the original song.

Billy Collins always says it best

2008-08-12T11:57:00.007-06:00

"The oldest subject in poetry is carpe diem. The reason you’re asked to carpe your diems is that you don’t have many diems left. The more you see your days as numbered, the more grateful you’ll be for those moments you have."
-Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate 2001-2003, in a lecture given at BYU in March 2008

If you don't know Billy Collins' work you should. It is sensual (meaning he engages the senses : ), funny and comfortable reading. And he reads he own work so well I'd love to just sit in a room and listen to him read. Wish I'd known he was speaking at BYU as I would have loved to have heard him speak.

BTW, I think it is impossible to carpe diem, or live in the moment, and I always feel a bit anxious when people suggest that I should do so.

Olympic Favorites

2008-08-10T15:02:00.014-06:00

Matt left for Argentina Friday morning and while he is carving some turns in Las Lenas...
(This is an actual shot of Las Lenas. Cool, huh?!)

...the kids and I are soaking up the Olympic spirit with endless TV time (an unheard of thing in our house, just ask the kids about BOB the TV timer). Saturday, I told the kids they could watch as much TV as they wanted as long as it was the Olympics.

And though they risked turning into Jimmy Jett and His T.V. Set , they loved watching all the fencing (nice sweep, U.S. women), swimming, rowing, and mens gymnastics (the cycling was not such a hit).

There are a few favorites I'm keeping my eye on during these Olympics. I love them because they are not young spring chickens, two of them are mothers, and they are determined, hard-working ladies.

Dara Torres

I want that kind of a Mama body. Hello!!! The woman is 41 years old and going for the gold again. I'm not convinced that she is totally clean, but still, she is one tough cookie who swam the last leg of the relay last night like a torpedo.

Elaine Youngs

I love that she is a johnny come lately to her sport. She was on the womens indoor volleyball team at age 30, switched to beach volleyball to compete in Athens at age 34 and is now, at 38 years old, competing with a partner almost 10 years younger. They are not the favorites to win (go Walsh & May-Treanor!), but I find her jumping ability at thirty-eight even more impressive than Torres' strength.

Melanie Roach

Is she cute or what? Melanie is 33 years old, a business woman (owns a gymnastics gym), a mother of three (one with autism), AND she is a Mo-lympian according to this site. Watch the feature story about her from the Today show last week.

And what an enchanting and amazing Opening Ceremonies. The kids and I kept speculating how long they had been rehearsing each piece. Communist conformity in motion looks pretty cool.

FHE Activity - Isaac Style

2008-08-04T20:49:00.005-06:00

This is the way Isaac prefers to spend Monday nights...

And I think Matt liked it, too.

2008-08-03T18:38:00.028-06:00

Google Image Quiz

This is a fun internet scavenge my sister, Codi, passed on to me from our friend Kate Benson.
Here is how to play..."For each question, look up the answer in a Google Image search. Then choose your favorite image from the first page of results only. You get some fun and often CRYPTIC answers."

AGE...

A Place I'd Like to Travel To...

My Favorite Place...

My Favorite Object...

My Favorite Food...

My Favorite Color...

My Favorite Animal...

Town Where I was Born...

Town Where I Live Now...

Past Pet...

A Past Love...

My Best Friend's Nickname...

My Screen Name...

My First Name...

My Middle Name...

My Last Name...

One of My Bad Habits...

My First Job...

My Grandmother's Name...

My College Degree...

What I'm Doing Right Now...

I'd love to see what you find for yourselves, so please share.

"I love hiking with you, Mom!"

2008-08-03T18:30:00.003-06:00

I had a fun time taking Isaac and his Cub Scout troop to the Summer Twilight camp again last week. Isaac has a lot of fun there, but he tires of having his mom around, obviously.